Security has been increased around the home of President Obama’s step-grandmother in Kenya after al Qaeda terrorists issued a personal threat against her, authorities said today.
Police in Kenya have begun 24-hour patrols after Al Shabaab, the Somalia-based branch of al Qaeda, threatened the life of Sarah Onyango Obama, ABC News reported on its website.
The stepped-up security comes nearly two weeks after US commandos shot and killed terror lord Osama bin Laden in his hideout in Pakistan.
One police chief told ABC News he now has enough officers "to patrol the entire village" of Nyang’oma Kogelo -- located some 35 miles west of western Kenya's main city of Kisumu -- where Obama's step-grandmother lives.
Sarah Obama, 89, is the third wife of Obama's paternal grandfather. Although she is not related to President Obama, he has affectionately referred to her as "Granny."
Al Shabaab, which has been involved in fierce fighting in Somalia for years, is an Islamist insurgent group that counts as many as 7,000 members. The group is considered part of al Qaeda's Somali-based branch.
Since bin Laden's death, various groups linked to al Qaeda have declared revenge against the US. One branch of the terror organization based in Yemen and led by possible bin Laden successor Anwar al-Awlaki, has said that the US would now "wish for the days of Osama."
"Do not dismiss this battle so easily, and give your people false hope that if you kill Osama that it is over," promised Nasir al-Wahishi, another leader of the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
"What is waiting for you is far greater and more dangerous, and you will then count your regrets, wishing for the days of Osama."
This comes as Obama is set to give a major speech, possibly as early as next week, laying out his new Middle East strategy after the killing of bin Laden and amid upheaval in the Arab world.
A key sticking point is whether Obama, who gained a boost in global stature with the death of the al Qaeda leader, will also use his coming address to present new proposals for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, a source familiar with the administration's internal debate said.
Obama, who will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on May 20, is considering giving the speech before he leaves on a trip to Europe early in the week of May 22, a senior administration official said.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney, speaking at the daily White House briefing on Wednesday, said the president would deliver an address on Middle East policy "fairly soon" but declined to provide further details.
Source: Reuters
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